When Spanish conquistador Pánfilo de Narváez made landfall on April 15, 1528 at present-day Boca Ciega Bay, he lit the fuse on one of the most significant explorations in American history.
An expedition of 300 men set out, on foot, to explore Florida, which had been discovered by the Spanish in 1513, and the vast continent’s inland areas. This was a half-century before the settlement of St. Augustine.
Eight years and 3,000 miles later, just four men – Narváez was not among them – reached the Pacific Ocean…